Energy saving system and method for cooling computer data center and telecom equipment

ABSTRACT

A system and method of reducing consumption of electricity used to cool electronic components such as in an electronic computer data center or in a facility of networking and telecommunications equipment, and to reduce the incidence of thermal failure of the electronic components, includes providing one or more partitions configured to form a reduced-volume cooled-environment chamber in order to supply cooled air from an air conditioning system to the chamber adjacent to racks containing the electronic components, thereby preventing dilution of the cooling air by warmer air from outside of the chamber, and controlling the delivery of cooling air through the reduced-volume cooled-environment chamber.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation of U.S. Non-Provisional patentapplication Ser. No. 16/227,979 filed on Dec. 20, 2018, which is acontinuation of U.S. Non-Provisional patent application Ser. No.14/516,256 filed on Oct. 16, 2014, which is a continuation-in-part ofco-pending U.S. Non-Provisional patent application Ser. No. 13/928,132filed on Jun. 26, 2013, which is a continuation of U.S. Non-Provisionalapplication Ser. No. 12/304,534, filed on Dec. 12, 2008, which is a 35U.S.C. § 371 application of PCT Application Serial No. PCT/US07/71313,filed on Jun. 15, 2007, which claims priority benefit to U.S.Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/804,908, filed Jun. 15,2006,and for which, each application is hereby incorporated herein byreference in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates generally to the field of commercialventilating and conditioning of air, and particularly to systems andmethods for cooling electronic equipment in computer data centers.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Effective cooling of data centers and other facilities operatingtelecommunications or computer equipment is a growing field of endeavor.Electronic components that operate on the flow of electricity createheat in the process of utilizing electrical flow. Modern electronicequipment is fast and powerful, but generally consumes substantiallymore power than systems of only a few years ago, and therefore createsmore heat in operation. Increased power consumption creates an increasedneed for cooling with regard to electronic equipment. Electricalconsumption and associated costs are skyrocketing, and many facilitiesare experiencing problems in sourcing sufficient power required to coolmodern electronic components as needed to prevent thermal damage to theequipment.

Cooling systems often utilize a water tower, or compressor type systems,or other sealed systems to create chill. This may be transferred intothe air the environment where electronic equipment is operating by meansof heat exchangers in a closed loop system with either glycol or water,or by supply from the compressor. Air handlers are usually placeddirectly in the computer environment and are positioned in what arethought to be strategic locations. Air handler systems are also utilizedas the primary air filtration device to remove airborne contaminants. Acommon practice has been to locate air handler units near electronicequipment that produce the most heat within the controlled environment.The purpose is to ensure plentiful cooling air is delivered to cool theequipment with highest heat output. The air conditioning units in thatenvironment are commonly referred to as “air handlers”. Various systemshave been proposed for cooling of computer and telecommunicationsequipment. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 7,112,131 to Rasmussen et al, U.S.Pat. No. 6,859,366 to Fink, U.S. Patent App. Pub. No. US2006/0260338 toVanGilder et al, U.S. Patent App. Pub. No. US2005/0237716 to Chu et al,and U.S. Patent App. Pub. No. US2005/0193761 to Vogel et al, aredirected to various methods and systems having been proposed, all ofwhich are hereby incorporated herein for reference.

In the modern world, medical records, governments, education,communications, transportation, banking, and all manner of otherbusinesses have become increasingly dependent on computer equipment tocommunicate, and to process and store vital data. Many companies need toupgrade to modern equipment that is faster and more reliable in order tomeet increasing information and communication demands. The United StatesDepartment of Energy estimates that Data Centers and CommunicationCenters currently account for about 2% of the total electrical powerconsumed in the USA. The report states that 45-billion kilowatt-hours ofelectrical energy were utilized in the USA to operate computer datacenters during 2005. The cost of that energy exceeded $2.7-billiondollars for electrical energy utilized by data centers. Energy costs arerising, and energy utilized by communications and data centers isexpected to increase exponentially as equipment becomes more compact andpowerful, and as the reliance on electronic systems increases.Construction planning estimates indicate that total square footage offacilities utilized to house and operate data and communicationsequipment will quadruple within the next ten years. With fasterequipment and miniaturization continuing, more power consuming equipmentcan be installed in a given space. Power requirements to operate newerelectronic equipment have increased exponentially over requirements forequipment of only a few years ago. As a result of these changes, a newproblem has surfaced, one that did not exist even five years ago. Manyfacilities are now finding that with the increased development insurrounding areas, and due to their own power requirements, that theirfacilities are already utilizing 100% of the electrical power that thefacility power systems are cable of handling and/or that is available tothe facility by the electrical utility supply. Problems related toelectrical power shortages are becoming increasingly common. Thesituation has become the focus of most industry publications andinformation forums such as the Uptime Institute. Each new generation ofequipment is faster, and each requires more power. With components beingmade smaller and smaller, the more heat generating equipment can beinstalled in a given area. This has resulted in a massive increase inelectricity consumption by facilities that were built with considerationand infrastructure support designed for electronic equipment thatconsumes less power. The increased density and speed of newer electronicequipment creates increasingly more heat, resulting in the need forincreased cooling capacity to prevent thermal failure of the electronicequipment. The electricity required for cooling electronic data andtelecommunications equipment can consume as much as half of the totalelectrical power utilized at facilities operating modern equipment. Manyfacilities simply do not have the power distribution infrastructure toobtain enough electricity nor adequate cooling efficiency to meet theincreased heat output of new electronic equipment. Older facilities areoften unable to safely distribute sufficient electricity throughexisting electrical wiring systems in their buildings. Retrofit to meetthe demand required by modern communication and data processingequipment is simply not possible without having to take the equipmentoffline. Having adequate power and distribution capabilities within thefacility available is not a total solution. If the cooling isinefficiently or ineffectively provided to the equipment, thermalfailure of expensive components can result in communications andbusiness interruption. Many organizations operating data centerfacilities are now forced to make a choice between retrofitting theirexisting facility (which may not even be possible), or moving to a newerfacility that is better designed to enable use of modern electronicequipment, or finally to outsource their entire data center operations.Moving operations from one telecommunications or data center facility toanother is very expensive. Operators of such facilities may perceivethat there are no other options that will enable them to take advantageof utilizing the newer faster equipment. As a result of the huge initialinvestment involved, many companies are forced to outsource the housingand operation of their data and telecommunications systems to a thirdparty company. This has often proven to be of no benefit since theoutsource company may suffer from the same disadvantages andinadequacies as the companies that they serve.

Companies that offer data center facility space and infrastructuresystems to other companies are referred to as “co-locations” whereinmany companies may place equipment, or lease equipment owned by theco-location company. The co-location company is responsible to ensurenecessary infrastructure systems are available including abundantelectrical power, backup power systems, a clean operating environment,security, fire control, and necessary cooling to appropriately cool heatproducing electrical equipment. After the catastrophe of Sep. 11, 2001in which the New York World Trade Center buildings were destroyed, theeconomic impact of the situation spread to include the loss of vitaldata. As a result, the United States government instituted a series ofregulations under the Federal Information Security Management Act(FISMA). It was designed to ensure that vital information affecting theeconomy and national security were well protected, and that vital datasuch as Stock Exchange data, transportation data such as air trafficcontrol systems, banking data, medical data, and other critically vitalinfo are available at all times. This lead to construction of many newdata center facilities. The fact that electronic equipment willeventually fail demanded the need for backup systems that are oftenlocated in other facilities and which are often located in other partsof the Country to ensure that the vital data would be available even inthe event of a catastrophe at any one or more of their facilities.Backup systems within the same facility as the primary systems could berendered at the same time in the event of a catastrophe such as a floodor fire. The need for redundancy has led to need for more data centers,and businesses have to sponsor multiple data center facilities to ensurethat critical communications and data availability are uninterrupted.Suddenly, to ensure that the vital information available, there became aneed for individual companies to operate two, three, four, or more datacenters at a tremendous cost, and huge increase in energy demand.Industry journals document the fact that many companies in fact mustmove their telecommunications and data center operations in order toobtain a basis for consistent system reliability and access to vitalcommunications and data. Further legislation enacted as a component ofthe Homeland Security may require costly modification of existingoperational procedures or facilities, as a result of increased concernsabout data security and availability. Building a new facility may takeyears. Uptime and system reliability can disappear in an instant if acatastrophe occurs, cutting off vital communications and data, at anytime and without warning. Moving to a new facility, or switching over tonew equipment is called “migration” because it is a slow, arduousprocess that may in itself cause system outages in which vital datacould be lost. Unable to tolerate down time for any reason, companieswere forced to create and operate multiple data center sites, or tooutsource their data and communication requirements.

Modern data centers can cost upwards of $1000 per square foot to developand build. Special site preparation, establishing a controlledenvironment envelope, special air quality control systems, securitycontrols, specialized power distribution, customized cable layouts andlinks to networks and telecommunications ports are all required.Sometimes an access flooring system is installed, while at otherfacilities, equipment may be placed directly on the structural floorwith wiring placement located overhead. That is the shell of a datacenter facility. Added to this are special cooling systems, filtration,backup power, and miles of cabling and/or fiber optics. Fire suppressionand warning and control systems must be installed, as well as otherdisaster controls such as fluid leak detection sensors and controls,emergency cooling, and even seismic bracing is required in some regionsand tall buildings. Facilities operating modern electronic systems maycontain equipment valued at $2,000,000 or more for every 1,000 squarefeet of telecommunications or data center floor space. Thus, the cost toprovide floor space in a modern specialized facility may exceed $10,000for the floor space required to install each rack of electronicequipment. If the racks cannot be completely populated with equipment,the cost of floor space per rack can exceed $20,000 per rack.

Beyond the huge cost to construct the facility and populate it withelectronic equipment and auxiliary power systems, most companies spendabout 10% of the startup cost each year thereafter just to maintain thefacility and keep equipment up to date and operational. The cost isindeed huge. If one were to ask any company what is the most valuablething housed in their data center, however, they will typically answerthat it is not the building, nor in the computers, networking ortelecommunications equipment. Rather, the most valuable thing is thecommunications capability provided by the equipment, and the data thatis processed and stored within the electronic equipment Modern societyhas become an information dependent society in virtually every aspect ofcommunications, commerce, government and transportation. Data centerindustry journals are indicating a there will likely be a 400% increasein constructed data center square footage over the next ten years.Companies and institutions are making huge investment toward assuringcommunication access and to have their vital data information availableat all times.

Once the facility is built, there is simply no absolutely effective wayto ensure that all of the communications systems, network systems andall of the data equipment will operate effectively and be available 100%of the time. Many companies have 24-hour/7-days a week/365-days eachyear/forever information availability requirement. Toward the end ofassuring data or communications availability, companies are left with nochoice but to build multiple data centers operating concurrently whichsupport the same dataset, just in case something happens that wouldotherwise interrupt the systems operation at one or more of thefacilities. Government agencies and large businesses such as Microsoft,Google, EBAY, General Electric, NASA, Bank of America, etc. have missioncritical information or communications requirements, and must sponsorand maintain multiple facilities at a cost of many hundreds of millionsof dollars each. The problem is even more expensive for globalenterprises operating telecommunications and data center facilities inother Countries.

Redundant telecommunications, networking, and data processing andstorage electronic systems are often required to maintain operations inthe event of an outage or disaster. A single facility may have 2, 3, 4,or even 5 unique sources of electrical power. Some are designed to betemporary, for emergency use. Others are viewed as primary to long-termoperation. Water for humidification control and cooling may be obtainedfrom the city, while others may obtain groundwater, using the municipalutility as backup. Some companies are now generating their ownelectricity in the interest of becoming independent of the publicutility or because the local utility company simply cannot consistentlyprovide enough “clean” power to handle the load requirement during peakoperational periods. Additionally, Federal Laws have been instituted toensure that vital records are maintained. Protection of personalidentity and health information is a key concern. Banking andtransportation information are critical in the global economy. As anexample, passenger manifests and immigrations and customs records mustbe constantly available and accessible around the world and in realtime. New regulations stipulate penalties for interruption ofcommunications services or data availability outages may be if the datais necessary to interstate business, transportation, banking, security,medical, etc. Vital enterprises have vital data.

Thus it can be seen that continuing improvements to methods and systemsfor cooling computer data centers and telecom equipment are desirable.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is now known that merely locating discharge of cooling air from anair handler near heat producing electronic equipment does notnecessarily ensure that the cooling air output is actually providing thedesired cooling effect toward preventing thermal failure of theelectronic equipment. Indeed, there is a considerable difference betweendischarging cold air near a heat source, and effectively cooling thatheat source in the desired manner. For example, FIG. 1a shows thetheoretical delivery of cooling air to computer equipment in a typical“hot aisle-cold aisle” arrangement; whereas FIG. 1b shows the mixing ofcooling air with hot air prior to delivery, recirculation of hot air,and insufficient cooling especially at upper rack positions, whichcommonly occurs in actual practice using known systems and methods forcooling electronic equipment. The chilled air from the air handlers isoften blown under an elevated floor with removable tiles. Accessflooring tiles can be perforated (having holes drilled through them orother vent configuration) so that the cold air can escape to providecooling to computers. Colder and damper air coming out of the perforatedtiles is denser and otherwise heavier than the general air mass withinthe environment. Thermodynamics and gravity make the cooler air fallimmediately to the floor, displacing warmer, less dense air. Often theair vented from the perforated floor tiles is vented as a plume that maynever rise more than a few feet above the floor level. The electronicequipment cabinets that this air is supposed to cool can be up to 7-feettall or more. Being heavier than the surrounding air, the cold airsupplied by the air handler quickly sinks to the lowest elevation. Mostcontrolled environment rooms soon become stratified, with a layer ofexcessively damp, much cooler air flowing along the lowest portion ofthe environment. The colder air layer does not reach the full height ofracks containing heat producing electronic components. Warmer air isdisplaced and may begin to accumulate near the ceiling. Various layersof differing temperatures and humidity may develop causing differentialtemperature strata layers to be formed in various areas throughout theair mass in the environment.

Data centers typically may have one or more air handlers per 2,000square feet of floor space. The need for more or less cooling equipmentshould obviously be determined by whether the systems are able toproperly to cool the amount of heat generated by electronic equipmentoperating in any area. Mathematical equations exist that are supposed tocalculate Kilowatt Hours of electricity consumed by heat generatingequipment and which is then used to calculate the total BTU andultimately the calculation is used to determine the total coolingrequirement. Contrary to common thinking, the reality is that a largercontrolled environment with relatively low population of electronicequipment require substantially more cooling due to the high volume ofthe environment causing poor turnover of the large air mass. Thus moreair moving equipment is needed, and a greater volume of air must bemaintained to acceptable condition by the air conditioning systems. Thisis a crucial factor to the economy and energy savings provided by theoperational system and method of the present invention. The air handlerspush huge volumes of air into the cooling air supply environment.Typical mid-sized air handler units are documented to produce flows of12,000 cubic feet of airflow per minute or more. If an air handler isoperating correctly, the output airflow should clean by filtrationwithin the system, and then cooled. The airflow may also need to bere-humidified to replace moisture lost during the cooling process ascondensation.

Perforated floor tiles may have any amount of output flow indistributing the chilled air from the air handlers to the top side ofthe floor where the heat producing equipment racks are located. Flowoutput may be positive or negative, that is flowing from or by suction,flowing into the subfloor environment. How well the cooling air isdelivered from the subfloor environment to the above floor environmentis determined by how well various infrastructure systems are utilizedtogether. In some bad installations, warm air being sucked from the airmass above the access floor system into the cold air supply plenum belowthe access floor system. This result is caused by the venturi effect dueto high velocity airflow under the access floor passing the holes in theperforated floor tile that are supposed to vent the air from below toabove the floor system. Thus, locating high velocity air handlers tooclose to equipment can have a very negative effect on the coolingefficiency and cooling performance of the entire above floorenvironment. In general, perforated floor tiles have poor output. Mostonly have 200 to 300-feet per minute of flow rate, and each tile is 4square feet, but only 30% open area, so 4-square feet×30%=1.2-squarefeet of actual flow area. Multiply the 200-feet per minute flow speed bythe actual flow area of 1.2-feet=240-cubic feet of air per minuteflowing through an average perforated tile. Optimal flow would be above600 or more cubic feet per minute of flow per tile.

As a result of these factors, it has been found that most of the coldair generated by all the cooling equipment and chillers is wasted intothe general environment, and never actually flows through the heatproducing equipment. The cooling air is dispersed as it mixes withwarmer air mass within the room at large, and thus the entire air massobtains temperatures above the cooling air temperature generated by theair handlers. Most electronic equipment racks have low airflow volumespassing through the components within the equipment racks. Flow rates ofless than 100-cubic feet of air per minute passing through all of theelectronic components in a single are common. The tiny fans on theequipment components and circuit boards don't add up to much flow due tothe small diameter of the axial fans used to create the airflow. Newinstallation techniques involve installing equipment in very closeproximity to other components in the rack, which is an efficient use ofspace and expensive floor space. However, the close proximity of theequipment further minimizes flow and adds to latent heat soak and heatretained by the heat producing equipment. Thus, these high-densityinstallations are very prone to heat related failure as a result of thebuildup of the heat within the rack enclosure. Other than the airflowcreated by the tiny fans, there may be very little or no airflow aroundthe equipment inside the rack enclosures. Often, exhausted warm airflows to the front side cooling air intake vents of components due tosuction created by the air drawn into the components by the tiny fans.This is the worst possible circumstance, wherein equipment isrecalculating already warm exhausted air through cooling air intakes.Heat related electronic component failure has become a more commonproblem, especially at older facilities that may have older airconditioning methods or systems installed. If an older facility installsnew electronic equipment, the heat produced can exceed the capacity ofthe facilities cooling systems. Design and configuration is also afactor in cooling efficiency and can greatly impact the amount of energyconsumed to cool telecommunications or data center equipment. How spaceis utilized is crucial to optimizing cooling performance and maximizinguptime probability and system reliability.

As an example application to which the present invention may bedirected, a typical computer environment will have rows of cabinets,each containing many computers or other components. The cabinets areoften aligned adjacent to one another to form rows. Rows of enclosurecabinets may be located so that parallel fronts of two rows face eachother to form an aisle. The floor space of the aisle formed by thefacing equipment is often about 4-feet wide. There is no standardconfiguration, and so a useful cooling solution must be versatile inorder to meet any possible configuration regardless of equipmentlocation within the telecommunications or data center. Equipment may bemoved to make way for new equipment installations or simply forreconfiguration. Upgrades and reconfiguration may be performed forsecurity or even structural reasons, or simply to upgrade electronicsystems. Relocating air handlers requires major planning since plumbingfor water supply to provide humidification, and drainage fromcondensation are often required for placement of an air handler.Sometimes equipment is no positioned so that there is a forward facingrow opposite, and thus forming an aisle. In some instances, a computercabinet (also called a rack, or an enclosure) may be a single unitexisting independently or simply apart from any other equipment. For thepurposes of expansion and upscale planning, companies often start outwith open space, leaving room for more equipment to be installed astheir communications and data requirements grow. Centers may take yearsto become fully utilized with regard to space. Other facilities arebuilt and filled to capacity by the time the facility is ready topopulate with equipment. In either case, day and night, year after year,the entire special volume of the facility is being cooled, and massiveamounts of energy are wasted to generating cooling. Installation of newequipment can cause cooling and airflow circumstances to change as thelocation of the new equipment may vital airflow patterns. Every piece ofequipment can become a barrier that changes the airflow patterns in theenvironment. If cabling is installed in the subfloor environment toconnect to the new equipment, the airflow in the under floor environmentchanges also. Changes in configuration can have a devastating effectcooling performance and the cooling energy requirement. A meaningfulcooling solution must therefore be capable correspondingly correctingany detrimental changes in the cooling provision.

Many facilities have access flooring systems installed, wherein thefloor system bearing the weight of electronic equipment is supportedabove the structural floor by pedestals. Many facilities use the spacebeneath the access flooring system as a supply plenum to distributeairflow from air conditioning equipment throughout the environment. Theaccess flooring system has removable panels. Some panels are solid, withno perforations. Others are perforated to allow for airflow from thesubfloor environment. Perforated tiles are commonly located directly infront of the front airflow intake side of the cabinets containingelectronic equipment. Some equipment enclosures have doors withperforation to allow airflow to flow through. It is commonly believedthat cooling air flowing from perforated floor tiles located in front ofequipment racks is pulled through the various heat producing componentsthat have fans in them. Warmed cooling air is then expelled out the backof the cabinet by the cooling fans within the electronic components.Cooling airflow velocity and volume flowing through the equipmentenclosures and individual components are often very low. Often thecooling airflow at the front side of equipment is almost imperceptibleand may only be detected by the use of airflow meters. Often the areawhere warmed cooling air is exhausted from the equipment is considerablywarmer than the cooling air being distributed from the perforated floortiles. This is especially true when many cabinets aligned into rows withthe exhaust sides facing. Frequently, the rear sides of cabinets arealso aligned parallel and opposite to form an aisle wide enough to allowfor workers to move equipment into the area. This method is referred toas a “hot aisle”. Data center designers call this systematic row stylearrangement “Hot-aisle/Cold-aisle” configuration (see FIG. 1a ). Thedifferential in temperature between cooling air exiting the perforatedtiles and the above floor environment can cause a most undesirablecircumstance. It is now understood that rather than being lofted in thecold aisle to cool the equipment, the colder, denser, and more humid airexiting the perforated tiles is heavier than the warm air in the abovefloor environment air mass. As a result of gravity, the cooling airflowing from perforated floor tiles falls to the floor and flowsuselessly out the end of the aisle between the rows. The air passingthrough the perforated tile causes turbulence in the above floorenvironment. Since the air is not partitioned once it is released abovethe floor, it is possible for the air to mix with the total volume ofair within the environment at large. This has been found to be a problemin all facilities using down-flow and up-flow air handlers, and infacilities with equipment positioned on access flooring systems andthose in which equipment is placed directly on the structural floor. Theproblem increases when the temperature differential between the abovefloor air mass and the below floor air mass increases. An object inmotion tends to remain in motion. Cooling air flowing to the above floorair mass drawn back to the air handler systems without ever passing athrough electronic equipment to provide efficient cooling. Airflowprovided by the air handlers not being flowing from perforated floortiles in a manner that will allow for appropriate cooling of upperportions of the racks containing electronic equipment. It is now knownthat this condition can result in a circumstance where exhausted fromthe backside of the electronic equipment, while in motion, is oftencirculated over or around the equipment to be ingested back into thefront of the cabinet (see FIG. 1b ). As a result, it is not uncommon forthe electronic components located at the end of rows or at the topportion of equipment racks to be the most susceptible to heat relatedfailure. A corrective solution must prevent this recirculation fromoccurring and must ensure than only coldest possible air is delivered inhigh flow volumes to all components in each rack, regardless of locationwithin the environment, and regardless of position or facing orientationin relation to other equipment racks. A meaningful and economicalsolution must also be versatile enough to allow for reconfigurationwithout reinvestment, and without requirement for any particular initialconfiguration, brand of equipment, and size of equipment, includingequipment of differential heights and depths aligned in rows. Aversatile solution would allow for installation without interruptingoperations of the facility, and would not necessitate relocating systemcomponents to be utilized. A desirably versatile solution must also becapable of providing the similar performance results, regardless ofwhether or not a facility has an access floor system installed. Aversatile solution must be capable of providing similarly high volumecooling airflow at the coldest possible temperature from any individualor combination of air handler delivery methods, and would be capable ofproviding increased airflow volume from any single or combination ofpositions in relation to the equipment racks including below, above, orbeside the electronic equipment.

Since most of the work by technicians is actually performed on what iscommonly referred to as the back side of the equipment where coolingairflow is exhausted. If the equipment is located in the hot aisleconfiguration, this can often a very uncomfortable place to work as aresult of the temperature in this area. Air moving slowly through theserver cabinets also exits slowly. Many equipment racks may have a totalflow rate of less than 70-cubic feet per minute flowing through thecomponents mounted within the rack. In addition, the cabinet itself canact as a “hot box” by prohibiting radiant heat from effectivelydissipating from each electronic component chassis. Working behindcabinets in the hot aisle is like working in front of a radiant heater.Slow and low volume airflow through the equipment racks has been foundto cause the heat generated within the enclosure to gradually heat upsurfaces that would otherwise remain cooler if the equipment were notinstalled in the cabinet. This results in a condition where the latentheat distributed throughout the rack represents a heat load that isactually higher than the actual generated heat load at any point in timeby the components. As a result of the increased temperature within thecabinets, air handlers are often set to operate at lower temperatures tooffset the heat buildup within components. Otherwise, this latent heatbuildup often precedes thermal component failure. An energy efficientsolution must be capable of provide a higher volume of airflow and mustprovide cooling airflow to electronic component surfaces that are notlocated in the path of the cooling airflow stream generated by the smallfans in the components. Since all surfaces in the cooling airflow mightthen dissipate heat, the operating temperatures of heat producingcomponents would be lowered resulting in more efficient cooling bypreventing latent heat retention from increasing the coolingrequirement. The output air temperature created by the air handlersmight then be raised saving considerable energy. An energy savingcooling solution such as this would utilize increased flow volumethrough heat producing components to provide adequate cooling ratherthan the commonly utilized method of creating colder airflow from airhandler systems.

A data center air handler may generate chilled air output attemperatures ranging from 40 to 60-degrees Fahrenheit depending on thecircumstances of the particular installation. In facilities with accessflooring systems, it is commonly believed that the cooling airflowcreated by the air handler is ducted by means of the subfloor plenum tothe various perforated tiles for delivery to the electronic equipment.However, some openings are commonly present in most access floor systemsthat result in undesirable leaks where floor tiles may be incorrectlypositioned, or the tiles have been cut to make room for wires to bepassed from the sub-floor to the above-floor environment. It is notuncommon to have holes cut into floor tiles so that wires can be fedthrough to the electronic equipment in the cabinets on top of the accessflooring system. The holes are commonly considerably larger than thewires and therefore cooling air leaks undesirably from the subfloorplenum. As a result, air pressure and flow provided to the perforatedtiles can be severely reduced. This is a commonly observed problem inmany facilities today. As the cooling airflow passes through thesubfloor plenum, the air may pick up heat from warm floor surfaces whereheat-generating equipment is positioned on the floor above. There mayalso heat transfer from a floor below in multi-story buildings.Sometimes leaks in the perimeter walls of the room containing theelectronic equipment. Often, the controlled environment room is found tohave lower air pressure than the peripheral and ambient areas causingcontaminating airflow into the environment under doors, though drains,and other flow paths. As a result, cooling airflow delivered toperforated floor tiles is often warmer than the air generated by the airhandlers. If an air handler is generating cooling airflow at 52 to55-degrees Fahrenheit by the time it exits the perforated tiles it mayoften be 58-degrees Fahrenheit or more. The air temperature one footabove a perforated floor tile may be 3 or 4-degrees warmer than thetemperature of the cooling air flowing through the perforated tile, forexample 61-degrees Fahrenheit. At an elevation of three feet above theperforated floor the temperature may be an additional 3 or 4-degreeswarmer, for example 65-degrees Fahrenheit. Six feet above the perforatedtile, the temperature is commonly above 70-degrees Fahrenheit. Thecommon air mass in the above floor environment is often 72-degreesFahrenheit. This is often found to be the temperature of cooling airthat flows into the cooling air intakes of the electronic equipment. Asa result of increasing heat related component failures, this previouslyknown delivery method has proven to be very inefficient and does notensure that the coldest possible cooling are that is generated by theair handlers is actually delivered to the flow through the heatproducing electronic equipment. The existing method does not providecooling airflow through heat producing equipment without the cold airflowing form perforated tiles first mixing with warmer air common to theabove floor air mass. In addition, the commonly utilized cooling methoddoes not prevent considerable undesirable loss of cooling airflow volumealong the flow path from air handlers.

Commonly, telecom and data center facilities will have a common abovefloor air mass temperature of 72-degrees Fahrenheit. The air handlerintakes are receiving air from the common air mass, in mostcircumstances, at the same temperature as the common air mass in theabove floor environment. Data center environments are typicallyconfigured to have a relative humidity in the above floor environmentthat is above 40% relative humidity, but below 55% relative humidity. Itis very common the find that the relative humidity in the above floorair mass averages 50% relative humidity. As the air is passes throughthe heat exchanger cooling section of air handlers, the air may releasemoisture in the form of condensation that is usually disposed of bycapturing the liquid in a drip pan which discharges to a drain. In orderto provide a consistent relative humidity within the above floor airmass, the water lost from the cooling airflow due to condensation mustbe replaced. Additional humidification is often provided by means of ahumidifier section within the air handlers. The humidifier section mayutilize high-energy lamps or other heating method to water to evaporatefrom a humidification tray that is often supplied with water from thegeneral utility, and sometimes from a well. This cycle ofdehumidification and re-humidification is a wasteful result of the widetemperature differential or Delta-T between air handler intake andoutput air temperatures. The humidification process requires largequantities of electrical power. Over months and years, the powerconsumed is enormous. A more economical system would reduce the amountof humidification required by reducing the differential in air handlerinput and output temperatures. The need for humidification is reducedcorrespondingly as the differential in air handler input and outputtemperatures are reduced. The corresponding reduction in humidificationrequirement would result in substantial energy savings.

The flow path of the cooling airflow vented from the perforated tilerandom in most facilities. As a result, the cooling air eventually mixesthe warmer air in the above-floor environment air mass. In a typicaldata center, this environment is maintained at 70 to 72-degreesFahrenheit. Assuming this as an average temperature model, one mustcalculate that the heat producing electronic components are ingesting72-degree Fahrenheit air for cooling. A typical data center room has 12to 24-inches of height in the subfloor plenum. There may be 10 feet ormore of above floor height to the ceiling partition or structuralceiling. In many facilities, this represents a large cubic volume of airmass. Both the subfloor and the above floor air masses are utilized toprovide cooling airflow to the equipment. The entire room or facilityserves as a cooling air supply plenum in most communication and datacenters. For example, a 200-foot long by 200-foot wide controlledenvironment room has 40,000 square feet of floor area. If the ceilingpartition where 13-feet higher than the structural floor, the facilitywould have an air mass volume above 500,000 cubic feet. Often, one airhandler is installed for every 1500 to 2,000-square feet of floor space,this would mean that there are a minimum of 20 air handlers to providecooling airflow. Documentation shows that typical large facility airhandler units are able to generate an average flow volume of12,000-cubic feet per minute into the subfloor plenum environment whenthe equipment is operating correctly. If 20 typical air handlersoperating at the same time to supply cooling air to the sameenvironment, this would mean that a typical total of 240,000 cubic feetof cooling airflow is generated by all of the air handlers each minute.Facility of this size might have many racks of equipment installed. Whenthe actual volume of air flowing through all of the heat generatingelectronic components is measured, it may be found to be less than20,000 cubic feet per minute, meaning that actual cooling potential isless than 10% of the coldest air flow volume generated by the airhandlers. The average temperature at the intake of the racks is 72degrees. The temperature of cooling air flowing into heat generatingequipment intakes is often found to be at or very nearly equivalent tothe temperature of air being drawn into the air handler intakes. Thismeans that the cooling temperature created by the air handlers is inlarge part lost due to mixing of the cooling airflow with warmer air. Anenergy saving solution should be capable ensuring that the coolingairflow is delivered at or substantially near to the temperature of airflowing out of existing room air handlers. None of the currentlyavailable cooling solutions ensure that this is done. To maximizecooling efficiency, an energy saving solution would ensure that the highvolume of airflow created by air handlers is channeled directly to theheat producing electronic equipment without loss of pressure or volumethrough leaks in the floor system, and would maximize cooling results byproviding high volume airflow through and also around surfaces of heatproducing components in a flow path other than those surfaces locatedwithin the flow path generated by the cooling fans within the electroniccomponents.

In one aspect, a representative embodiment of the present inventionprovides an energy saving method of reducing the consumption ofelectricity used to cool computer data center and communicationsequipment, the method including reducing the volume of the cooledenvironment, and controlling the cooling air flow through the reducedvolume of the cooled environment.

In another aspect, a representative embodiment of the invention is asystem for reducing the consumption of electricity used to cool computerdata center and telecom equipment. The system preferably includes atleast one partition for defining a reduced-volume cooled environmentsurrounding the equipment, and means for controlling the cooling airflowthrough the reduced-volume cooled environment.

In another aspect, the invention is a cooling system for electronicequipment, the system preferably including a substantially airtightenclosure for delivering cooling air to at least one electroniccomponent, means for delivering cooling air to the substantiallyairtight enclosure, and means for controlling the flow of the coolingair to the at least one electronic component within the substantiallyairtight enclosure.

In still another aspect, the invention is a cooling system forelectronic equipment. The cooling system preferably includes anenclosure defining a reduced-volume interior cooled environment fordelivering cooling air to the electronic equipment and substantiallyinhibiting mixing of external air with the cooling air. The coolingsystem preferably also includes means for controlling the delivery ofthe cooling air through the reduced-volume cooled environment.

In another aspect, the invention is a method of reducing the consumptionof energy used to cool electronic equipment. The method preferablyincludes the steps of providing an enclosure defining a reduced volumecooled environment, delivering cooling air to the reduced volume cooledenvironment, generating a pressure differential from a first side of theelectronic equipment to a second side of the electronic equipment tocreate a flow of the cooling air across a surface of the electronicequipment, and controlling the delivery of cooling air from the reducedvolume cooled environment to the electronic component.

In still another aspect, the present invention relates to a coolingsystem for cooling at least one electronic component with cooling air.The cooling system includes a substantially airtight enclosure formedwithin a structure, for delivering the cooling air to at least oneelectronic component without dilution by warm air in a surroundingenvironment. The substantially airtight enclosure at least partiallyencloses the at least one electronic component. The cooling system alsoincludes a means for exposing the cooling air with respect to thesubstantially airtight enclosure at least partially enclosing the atleast one electronic component. The means for exposing the cooling airwith respect to the substantially airtight enclosure includes a pressuredifferential influence. The cooling system also includes means forcontrolling the flow of the cooling air with respect to the at least oneelectronic component. The means for controlling the flow of cooling airwith respect to the at least one electronic component includes at leastone chamber defined by the substantially airtight enclosure, theenclosure being formed by at least one partition.

In still another aspect, the present invention relates to a coolingsystem for cooling electronic equipment with cooling air. The coolingsystem includes a substantially airtight enclosure for exposing thecooling air to the electronic component. The substantially airtightenclosure at least partially encloses the electronic equipment and isdefined by at least one partition. The cooling system also includes ameans for exposing the cooling air with respect to the substantiallyairtight enclosure. The means for exposing cooling air with respect tothe substantially airtight enclosure includes a cooling air deliveryplenum. The cooling system also includes a means for controlling theflow of the cooling air with respect to the electronic component. Themeans for controlling the flow of the cooling air with respect to theelectronic component includes at least one chamber defined by thesubstantially airtight enclosure.

In still another aspect, the present invention relates to a method ofreducing the consumption of energy used to cool electronic equipment.The method includes providing an enclosure within a structure at leastpartially enclosing the electronic equipment. The enclosure defines areduced volume cooled environment relative to the contained volume ofthe structure. The method also includes exposing cooling air withrespect to the reduced volume cooled environment. The reduced volumecooled environment is defined by at least one partition. The method alsoincludes generating a pressure differential from a first side of theelectronic equipment to a second side of the electronic equipment via atleast one fan to create a flow of the cooling air across a surface ofthe electronic equipment. The method also includes controlling thedelivery of cooling air from the reduced volume cooled environment tothe electronic equipment.

In representative embodiments, the system and method of the presentinvention provide improved efficiency of energy use and provide vitalcooling to mission-critical data center computer systems andtelecommunications and networking equipment that produce heat as aresult of electrical power utilization. Example embodiments of theinvention may also function as a security system, by limiting physicalproximate access to classified information systems. Example embodimentsof the invention can also act to suppress noise by greatly reducing thenoise level created by all the equipment and airflow noise common toenvironments where the invention might be utilized.

Further representative embodiments of the invention can be utilized toprovide stability bracing for tall, heavy equipment cabinets utilized incomputer rooms that might be located in facilities where motion couldcause equipment to move and potentially topple. Examples ofinstallations where the embodiment may be utilized for this purpose mayinclude, but not limited to, data centers located in regions withseismic activity where earthquakes may cause potential motion, orcomputer located in ocean-going ships such as navy vessels, or aircraftwith computer systems such as hurricane research or surveillanceaircraft.

Example embodiments of the invention may also serve to provide fluiddelivery by means of delivering compressed gas liquid such as nitrogenor gas that does not represent an inhalant hazard, and which can bevaporized prior to release, causing chill by evaporation so thatconsistent and high volume flow of fluid at any temperature desired forcooling of electronic equipment is assured, and in quantities sufficientto maintain any desired temperature for continuous operation of heatgenerating electronic equipment requiring constant cooling to preventthermal failure. Example embodiments of the invention can also serve asa fire control system, by serving as a partition to limit the spread offlames in the event of a fire.

Example embodiments of the invention can utilize delivery of anextinguishing fluid such as nitrogen, FM-200 or other material thatpreferably does not represent an inhalant hazard, and which may or maynot be vaporized prior to release, and which gas may serve as a firesuppression fluid so that a fire can be extinguished. Representativeforms of the invention may utilize an appropriate gas for this purpose,such that, the extinguishing component, such as nitrogen, will notitself contaminate the environment with particulate from the suppressionmethod, nor will any fluids be dispensed which may damage equipment bycorrosion or electrical shorting which may otherwise pose a risk toemergency response personnel or electronics system technicians. Inaddition, there are no extreme human health hazards of inhalingconcentrations of vaporized nitrogen into an otherwise air atmospheresince the mixture of gases in air is mostly nitrogen already.

Example embodiments of the invention also provide contamination controlto prevent airborne soil from being deposited on sensitive electronicequipment that is prone to failure as a result of contamination. Theinvention prevents air from unknown or undesirable sources from flowingthrough the electronic equipment. Preferred forms of the invention onlyallow desirably clean air of appropriately controlled temperature andhumidity to flow to through the electronic equipment from the airconditioning systems which are designed to provide high flow volumes ofappropriately filtered, humidified air at a desired temperature.

Additionally, example embodiments of the invention minimize the volumeof air that requires cooling conditioning, and at the same timeincreases the amount airflow that is cooling the electronic equipment.The increased flow will preferably prevent debris from any source fromsettling inside of the electronic equipment, thus further minimizing thepotential for system failure due to contamination related shorting oragglomeration of debris inside of sensitive equipment. Agglomeration cancause debris to clump together to form large, often electricallyconductive debris formations that can be ingested into computer coolingfans, ruining flow efficiency, or worse, obstructing the fan to thepoint that motion of the fan stops. Eliminating the agglomeration ofdebris can reduce the potential for electrical shorting and insulationof heat yielding components.

Example embodiments of the invention optimize the utilization of verycostly real estate and construction costs associated with architectingspecialized data center and telecommunications facilities havingcritical environment areas where mission critical equipment is housedfor operation. Modern electronic equipment produces much more heat thanolder systems. Currently, computer systems utilize 20 or 30 times theenergy of systems that were state of the art only three or four yearsago. These systems produce considerably more heat as a result of thepower consumption. The new systems produce much heat, that companies arefinding it difficult to prevent thermally related failure of systemsusing air as the cooling fluid. The electricity consumed in cooling is alarge portion of the overall electrical energy utilized by suchfacilities. Electricity required for cooling will be drastically reducedby the systems and methods of the present invention, to increase theoverall cooling performance of existing air conditioning systems.

Cooling is proving to be a major problem as a result of stratificationin the atmosphere in computer environments separating into variouslevels, and therefore, not providing consistent cooling. With hotter airrising due to displacement by denser, cooler air, the uppermost portionsof equipment cabinets often do not have airflow of sufficiently lowtemperature to provide cooling, and so the top portions of equipmentenclosures are often left empty. This means that more cabinets, and thusmore data center square footage are required to provide space adequateto house all of the computers that may be required for the operationalprocesses of the facility. Example embodiments of the present inventioneliminate stratification of the cooling air, and at the same time,prevent dilution of the coldest possible air supply by mixing withwarmer air from undesirable sources. By eliminating mixing andstratification, and supplying the coldest possible airflow at a uniformtemperature to all altitudes in the equipment enclosures, adequatecooling can be provided so that the enclosures can be fully populatedwith electronic equipment, thus optimizing utilization of cabinets,floor space, and overall utilization of real estate. By enabling the useof a smaller cooled environment footprint, less cooling is required, airturnover in that environment can be multiplies many times over, andtherefore additional money and energy savings are provided since lesscapital investment is required to purchase air conditioning equipment,and thus no energy is needed to operate those systems and no repaircosts are incurred to maintain the equipment.

This provides for an overall better indoor and outdoor environment. Itis an environmentally responsible solution that has many immediate andlong term benefits, and it does nothing to detract from the naturalenvironment, but rather serves to preserve natural resources. The systemby reduces noise both indoors and outdoors. Utilization reducesundesirable byproducts associated with air conditioning processes,including unsightly cooling towers that must operate with poisonouschemicals added. Potential health hazards are reduced, such asdevelopment of infectious contaminants such as Legionella pneumophilabacteria, or harmful pathogens such as mold, which may infect and growin wet areas in cooling equipment and thus pose a health risk to humanssuch as service technicians. Utilization of the invention will reduceozone emissions created by operation of electric motors, whichcontributes to smog. The systems and methods of the present inventioncan be utilized in any configuration that may be desirable, according tothe unique layout and configuration of the facility and equipmentplacement within the environment. Other cooling or airflow enhancementmethods are only effective or can only be utilized when equipment in theenvironment is placed in a particular position that in many situationsis not practical, safe, or may not be desirable for operationalpurposes. Example forms of the system and method of the presentinvention can be configured in customized fashion so that any desiredplacement can be accommodated, and so that the beneficial operationalfeatures provided by utilization can support any number of equipmentenclosures.

Other cooling and flow control devices are designed for particularlocation of airflow supplied to or managed by the device. The systemsand methods of the present invention can provide all the same beneficialfeatures, regardless of where the conditioned airflow is sourced,specifically in regard to whether airflow comes from below, the side, orabove the invention. The systems and methods of the present inventioncan be configured to be installed on the either the air intake, or theair output, or both, and any other side of electronic equipmentcabinets, including over or under the cabinets. By utilization of thesystems and methods of the present invention, the direction of flow canbe governed, and both input and output airflow through cabinets can becontrolled, for recirculation, or to or from a desired location orenvironment. Example embodiments of the invention allow for a human,such as a service technician, to be fully inside of the system of theinvention when it is installed on the air intake side of the equipmentcabinets, and to service the equipment without any interruption of thebeneficial properties of the invention.

Example embodiments of the invention enclose the area in front of theair intakes on the cabinets so that all of the air from the floor mustflow through server cabinets, into and around every piece of equipmentin the cabinet, so there will be more hot surfaces being cooled.

The effectiveness of the system and method of the present invention maybe understood with reference to an example application:

-   -   72-degree Fahrenheit average air temperature in a data center        environment with 20 air handlers (1 per 2000 square feet), each        producing cooling air at a temperature of about 51-degrees        Fahrenheit and each having a flow volume of about 12,000-cubic        feet of air per minute (cfm).    -   10 computer cabinets arranged in a row configuration.    -   8 rows of 10 cabinets configured to create 3 “hot aisles” (back        side facing back side) and four “cold aisles”.    -   Cold aisles are 4 feet wide (2 floor tiles wide) so that there        are ten perforated floor tiles in each cold aisle.    -   Average airflow volume of 320-cubic feet per minute through each        floor tile.    -   Therefore each cold air supply chamber adjacent to the equipment        racks would have 3200-cubic feet of air per minute flowing into        it from the subfloor, or from any other cold air source or        inflow position.    -   Air temperature flowing into the cold air supply chamber is        about 51-degrees.

Utilizing an example embodiment of the invention according to theseparameters, the air from the chillers would only remain in the subfloorplenum area under the floor very briefly. With increased flowefficiency, the air would spend less time in the under floorenvironment, and so would not obtain heat from that area. Thus, if51-degree Fahrenheit airflow were created by the air handlers, the airwould be delivered quickly to the perforated tiles at or very nearly51-degrees Fahrenheit, the air temperature of the air at the outlet ofthe air handlers. By enclosing the cold air supply aisle completely,including spanning the aisle with a cover such as a roof or ceilingwhich may be a part of the facility, or may otherwise be configured fromcomponents of the invention, and which may be configured in such amanner that no heat from the electronic equipment enclosures can beintroduced into the cooling air intakes of the equipment enclosures, thecold air provided by the air handlers would create a pressuredifferential wherein the areas having only cold air provision will havea higher pressure as a result of inflow of the cooled air in comparisonto other areas outside of the enclosed area. The areas outside of theenclosure would have lower pressure resulting from suction created bythe return air intake on the air handlers by means of which cold airsupplied to the cooling air supply aisle would literally be suckedthrough every crevice in the computer enclosures. Even in the event thatthere was no suction, the cooling air would have only one way to escapeas the enclosure becomes mildly pressurized in comparison to theenvironment outside of the enclosure. Pressure is constant as a resultof the inflow from the subfloor, and so the air is forced at the rate of3200 cubic feet per minute through the computer cabinets making up thetwo long sides of the aisle. With 10 cabinets in each row, the air wouldbe delivered to each cabinet, without stratification, at or very near51-degrees Fahrenheit, and flow through each cabinet would exceed 150cfm. As a result of increased flow rate and improved coolingperformance, the equipment would operate at a lower temperature. Airpassing through the equipment would not pick up so much heat, and socooling requirements could be reduced to offset the increase.

More importantly, the heat retained by operating equipment would be cutsubstantially. In fact, it is possible to operate the chillers at a muchlower temperature differential. This can save exponentially on power andmaintenance, as well as capital cost of equipment. As an example, a datacenter might elect to operate chillers at 68-degrees and still ensurethat the air flowing into the electronic equipment was actually muchcolder than the previous 72-degrees obtained at the cabinet intakewithout the system and method of the present invention. Cost of chillingthe air would be cut by the expense of the additional energy required tochill the air another 17-degrees, and the temperature within racks canbe 20 or more degrees Fahrenheit cooler.

Potential benefits from example embodiments of the invention include:

-   -   Chiller system operation would be cut by more than 50%.    -   Compressor and cooling tower use also would be reduced.    -   Expensive real estate could be utilized to optimum capacity.    -   Cabinets could be filled or “populated” to maximum capacity        without thermal issues commonly associated with high-density        installations.    -   Facilities that would otherwise not be able to operate and cool        modern communications and data equipment would be now able to        utilize modern electronic equipment without thermal component        failures.    -   A basis would be provided for uptime confidence, and would        provide a basis for decision-making and scalability planning        that would otherwise not be possible. Increased system        availability and operational performance are directly        attributable to utilization of the method.

Typical data centers have cabinets filled to less than half capacity.This means that real estate expenses, the structure costing US$1000-persquare foot to build, besides land and infrastructure costs, could bereduced also. A typical 40,000 square foot data center may use more thanUS$1.5 million in electricity in a year. Often about half of the totalenergy utilized, or US$750,000 worth of energy is utilized for operationof inefficient cooling methods and systems. That equates to US$18.75-persquare foot per year for cooling alone. Appropriately applyingrepresentative examples of the system and method of the presentinvention, the savings become exponential, so that the same facilitywill spend less than US$5.00 per square foot for cooling each year, atcurrent energy prices. The system and method of the present inventionmay instantly contribute to cash saved in cooling. Savings for such atypical facility may exceed $400,000 per year, at current energy costrates, and would provide better cooling too.

Lower overall power consumption also means that backup and auxiliarypower systems (generators) investments can also be minimized. Batterybackup systems must be charged constantly, generators must be operatedregularly to provide lubrication to moving parts and to clear fuel andexhaust systems. Generators commonly utilize expensive diesel fuel,gasoline, or natural gas as fuel. Batteries in uninterruptible powersupply battery arrays need to be replaced after the useful life isspent. Improper disposal may cause toxic lead to be distributed to waterbodies. All batteries release gas during charging. If batteries arenearing the end of their useful life, overcharging can occur and thebatteries will overheat, releasing toxic vapors which are hazardous tothe facility, electronic equipment, and personnel. Representativeembodiments of the present invention can minimize the requirement forthese systems, resulting in another potential money and energy savingsadvantage.

These and other aspects, features, and advantages of the invention willbe understood with reference to the drawing figures and detaileddescription of example embodiments, and will be realized by means of thevarious elements and combinations particularly pointed out in theappended claims. It is to be understood that both the foregoing generaldescription and the following brief description of the drawings anddetailed description of example embodiments are explanatory of exampleembodiments of the invention, and are not restrictive of the invention,as claimed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIGS. 1a and 1b show the theoretical idealized operation, and thepractical real-world actual operation, respectively, which commonlyresult from previously known cooling systems and methods.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an example form of a cooling systemaccording to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view and airflow diagram of an example formof a cooling system according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a partial cross-sectional view and airflow diagram of anotherexample form of a cooling system according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a partial cross-sectional view and airflow diagram of anotherexample form of a cooling system according to the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a partial cross-sectional view and airflow diagram of anotherexample form of a cooling system according to the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a partial cross-sectional view and airflow diagram of anotherexample form of a cooling system according to the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a partial cross-sectional view and airflow diagram of anotherexample form of a cooling system according to the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a detailed front view, in partial cross-section, of anotherexample form of a cooling system according to the present invention,showing a representative installation of electronic components therein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXAMPLE EMBODIMENTS

The present invention may be understood more readily by reference to thefollowing detailed description of example embodiments taken inconnection with the accompanying drawing figures, which form a part ofthis disclosure. It is to be understood that this invention is notlimited to the specific devices, methods, conditions or parametersdescribed and/or shown herein, and that the terminology used herein isfor the purpose of describing particular embodiments by way of exampleonly and is not intended to be limiting of the claimed invention. Also,as used in the specification including the appended claims, the singularforms “a,” “an,” and “the” include the plural, and reference to aparticular numerical value includes at least that particular value,unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. Ranges may be expressedherein as from “about” or “approximately” one particular value and/or to“about” or “approximately” another particular value. When such a rangeis expressed, another embodiment includes from the one particular valueand/or to the other particular value. Similarly, when values areexpressed as approximations, by use of the antecedent “about,” it willbe understood that the particular value forms another embodiment.

Example forms of the system and method of the present invention enablegreatly reducing the amount of energy required to adequately cool heatsensitive electronic equipment in computer data center andtelecommunications environments where heat generating electronicequipment is installed. The electronic equipment is typically installedin equipment cabinets called racks or enclosures. Cooled air is suppliedfrom specialized air conditioning systems that may provide air to coolthe equipment by a number of delivery means. A common method fordistributing cooling air is utilization of an elevated flooring systemcalled an access floor system. The floor is elevated upon pedestals thatmay or may not be joined by stringers. The stanchions and stringerssupport tiles made from any number of structurally appropriatematerials. The tiles are about 1 inch thick and otherwise 2-feet wideand 2-feet long. The air conditioning system provides cooled airflow tothe area underneath the flooring system with the removable tiles. Wherecooling air is desired, a special floor panel is installed that may haveany number of ventilation openings, for instance drilled or louvered.The cold air flows from the area underneath the elevated floor calledthe subfloor. The entire subfloor area serves as a delivery plenumproviding cooling air to various locations, and so it is commonlyreferred to as the subfloor plenum. In previously known systems, oncethe cooled air flows out of the subfloor plenum through the perforatedventilation tiles to the above-floor environment, the cooled air beginsto immediately mix with warmer air in the common data centerenvironment, and so the air is less useful for cooling the electronicequipment as the diluted cooling air gains heat and is dispersed intothe generally much warmer air in the above-floor environment.

Example embodiments of the invention reduce the size of the overallcooling air supply plenum through which cooling air is provided to coolthe heat producing electronic equipment. Currently utilized coolingmethods most commonly use air conditioning equipment to cool the entiredata center environment in which the sensitive equipment is operating.Usually the equipment is located inside of rack enclosures or other typeof cabinet commonly used to hold equipment in these environments. Therack enclosures create dense heat sources within an otherwise coolerenvironment. The racks are incapable of obtaining adequate heatdissipation by means of radiant distribution. Core temperatures withinthe enclosure may reach temperatures high enough to vaporize metals,which may also cause system component failure

The commonly utilized method of cooling the entire data centerenvironment is intended to limit obstruction of available coolingairflow within the environment. Since the whole room shares the same airsupply, cooling air availability is commonly believed to be equivalentthroughout the environment. Unfortunately and unexpectedly, thesepreviously accepted concepts regarding cooling have now been discoveredto be flawed, inefficient, and expensive, since (i) actual airflow hasbeen found to not follow the idealized airflow patterns previouslyenvisioned; and (ii) the overall volume of air to be cooled is verygreat, and maintaining such a volume of air at an adequately lowtemperature requires excessive use of electrical energy. Previouslyknown cooling methods do not prevent mixing of the supplied filtered,cooled, and otherwise conditioned air with the heated air exhausted fromheat generating equipment. Example embodiments of the invention, bycontrast, utilize partitions that can be configured to completelyisolate the cooling air intake of the equipment cabinets so that thecooling air supplied under pressure from the air conditioning machinesis prevented from mixing with any warm air, and is then forced in veryhigh volume through the equipment requiring cooling.

Without adequate cooling, computers may fail without warning due toexcessive heat. Many data center and telecommunications facilities areexperiencing problems with equipment failures resulting from thermalfailure. This is especially true in the case of facilities where newer,high-speed computers operate at much higher temperatures than oldersystems. Example embodiments of the present invention exponentiallyincrease the amount of cooling air delivered to hot surfaces ofelectronic equipment. Suction from the air-conditioning system intakesdepressurizes the area outside of the cooling air only supply chamber ofthe present invention. This reduced pressure works to vacuum the coolingairflow from the created cold-air-only plenum chamber of the presentinvention. Thus the powerful motors on the air conditioning systems bothpressurize the isolated cooling air plenum, while at the same timedepressurizing the separated warmed air return plenum. No existingmethod utilizes these powerful motors in such a manner.

In example embodiments of the present invention, any portion up to thefull output flow of the air conditioners can be supplied directly to thecooling air intake of computer equipment regardless of location in thedata center. Data centers on average use a large percentage of theoverall energy used to cool the equipment that is using the balance ofthe energy consumed. Current methods of cooling allow warm air to mixwith cooling air because the entire data center environment is used as aconduit to supply cool air to the computer equipment. In a typicalenvironment, there is no method for ensuring that cooling flows throughcomputer equipment once it has traveled from the air chiller to theabove floor environment.

The present invention minimizes the overall volume of the cooling airsupply plenum, so that the cooling air flows quickly from the chiller tothe computer. Air-cooling systems for computer areas have powerfulmotors capable of producing massive flow exceeding 10,000 cubic feet offiltered, chilled air each minute. Since the input side of the computerserves as a wall to the enclosure, and the enclosure is in directcommunication with the output of the air conditioning system by means ofa plenum. The air conditioning units pull intake air from the commonroom environment, which is partitioned from the cooling air supplysystem by my invention. This causes a pressure differential that is inno way uncomfortable to personnel, but that will greatly increase flowthrough the computer cabinets as a result of the vacuum effect caused bylower pressure on the return plenum supplying intake air to the airconditioning systems.

The combination of elevated pressure in the cooling air supply chamberadjacent the rack and high volume flow of the cooling air supplied toelectronic equipment is magnified by suction created by the airconditioners drawing air from the output side of the computer equipment.The temperature of cooling air supplied to computers is as low as can beobtained at all times because the invention prevents warm air frommixing with the cooling air supplied by the air conditioning systems.This means that fewer air handlers are required, thus cooling equipmentand energy costs are greatly reduced. Because of increased throughput ofcooling air, the computer systems can be cooled adequately with coolingair of a higher temperature than would otherwise be possible.

Since the volume of air flowing through computer servers is multiplied,the air is not as warm when exiting the computer equipment. This meansthat the input air returning to the air conditioning systems will notrequire as much energy to cool to an acceptable output temperature. Mostelectronic equipment components may have one or more small axial coolingfans of a few inches in diameter that move a small volume of air acrossa few of the heat generating surfaces within the equipment. The presentinvention will allow facilities that have adequate electrical power tooperate the newest high-density servers that could otherwise not becooled sufficiently using existing cooling methods. The presentinvention also eliminates cooling problems caused by air stratificationin which the air separates into various layers of differenttemperatures. When the air accumulates into temperature layers, thedenser cooling air is always on the bottom, yet, the hot surfaces areoften much higher in the environment than the cooling air can possiblybe delivered. As a result of this problem, data centers do not fillcomputer enclosures to capacity, since the equipment near the top of theenclosure would fail due to poor cooling.

Data centers are expensive structures to build and maintain. Unlikeexisting cooling methods, the present invention will enable the cool airdelivered from the air handlers to be supplied directly to anyelectronic equipment in any area of the data center or controlledenvironment and regardless of elevation within the equipment enclosures.The present invention will allow enclosures to be filled completely andcan provide the same temperature and flow of cooling air to every serverinstalled in enclosure. Installation of example systems incorporatingthe present invention is very fast, and can preferably be accomplishedby one person without any interruption of computer operations. Thepresent invention typically does not require any changes to existingfacility infrastructure, requires no additional plumbing, does notrequire additional sources of electricity or additional consumption ofenergy, and generally does not necessitate load bearing structures to bereinforced.

Unlike some existing systems, with the present invention, there istypically no need to shut down, or remount the servers in a differenttype of enclosure. This means that there is no interruption of any datacenter operations during installation. Electrical requirements will bereduced immediately after the present invention is installed. Byapplying the present invention to all computer equipment requiringcooling air from the air conditioners, the overall cooling performancewill actually increase as a result of increased pressure and flow beingsupplied to all equipment at the same time. As a result, overall roomtemperature will be reduced, even though the temperature of the coolingair supplied to provide cooling could be increased. Thus, the energysavings are compounded.

Example embodiments of the present invention cost less than othercooling solutions, and can be deployed very quickly. Return oninvestment of the cost to apply the present invention comes in severalforms: uptime reliability because of reduced failures, greatly reducedcooling energy costs, better utilization of data center space, andreduced costs to populate the environment with equipment, and reducedcost of air conditioning equipment and maintenance.

Example embodiments of the present invention can also be installed whereno other system can, because it preferably comprises a zero-clearancedisappearing door system that also serves as a wall. This featureenables for utilization in any machine position or configuration. Unlikeother cooling systems available, the system of the present inventiondoes not require the computer systems to be in an aisle or even a rowconfiguration. It can be utilized with any brand of computer equipment,and any mix of computer equipment or enclosures of various heights andfrom different manufacturers. Example embodiments of the presentinvention can be utilized with any configuration or layout of computerequipment, from a single computer to any size mix of equipment.

Another feature of the present invention is that in example embodiments,it can be utilized to provide physical access security. Federal lawrequires many data center facilities such as those of banks, insurancecompanies, credit institutions, and others to abide by strict accesssecurity protocols. Example embodiments of the present invention can beinstalled to provide cooling, or for other purposes in the environment,including elsewhere in the environment to provide separation or accesssecurity or both.

Example embodiments of the present invention can be utilized in variousdifferent configurations so that the same results can be achieved indata centers of any configuration, regardless of whether the cooling airis supplied from a subfloor plenum, or an overhead supply, or from theside. A cooling system according to an example embodiment of theinvention preferably has a frame made of aluminum or other metal orstructural material, suitable for use as a frame to support the panelsand disappearing walls or doors. The frame is preferably fitted withpanels, doors, or other partition components of any material suitablefor the desired use or installation situation, with additional detailsof these partition components further described herein. Doors anddisappearing walls can optionally be fitted with security locks or otherdesired security devices, including specialized identification matchingdevices.

FIG. 2 shows a perspective view of a representative example of a coolingsystem 10 for carrying out the methods of the present invention. One ormore sidewall panels 12 and one or more roof panels 14 are preferablymounted to one or more frame elements 16 to form one or more partitions18 and to define a substantially airtight enclosure 20 (e.g., inconjunction with end doors and/or other end partition components)surrounding an enclosed space or chamber 22, within which electroniccomputer and/or telecom equipment 24 (“electronic equipment” or“electronic components”) is installed. As used herein, an “airtight”enclosure refers to an enclosure that is sufficiently isolated from anexternal environment to result in a pressure differential between theinternal contained volume of the enclosure (typically the higherpressure region) and the external environment (typically the lowerpressure region) in normal operation, and does not exclude an enclosurehaving gaps or openings for cable access, attachments, fasteners,fire-suppression access, gaps at doors and other moving parts, and thelike. The floor 30 upon which the enclosure is supported may be a raisedaccess floor, optionally defining a cooling air and/or cable plenumthere beneath, or may be a standard structural floor of concrete orother known form. In example embodiments, the framing elements 16comprise prefabricated quick-connect, reconfigurable extrusions ofaluminum or other metal, such as the T-SLOT™, 80/20™, OCTANORM™ or othercomponent system, and optionally include gaskets or seal surfaces forairtight engagement with the panels and to prevent vibration. Thesidewall panels 12 and roof panels 14 preferably comprise substantiallyrigid and air impermeable planar or curved panels of acrylic, glass, orother material, and may be transparent, translucent or opaque, andoptionally are provided with a coating or other means of staticelectricity dissipation. One or more access doors 32 allow personneland/or equipment ingress and egress to and from the enclosed chamber 22when opened, and provide a substantially airtight enclosure when closed.In example embodiments, the access doors 32 comprise low profile“elevator style” sliding pocket doors, pull-down flexible closures,accordion-style collapsible panels, swing door, or flexible, or stretchmaterials. Locks are optionally provided on the access doors forsecurity and access control, and may include keyed, keycard and/orbiometric (fingerprint, retinal scan, etc.) access limitation. In thedepicted embodiment, the enclosure 20 forms a generally rectangularelongate chamber or hallway 22 having access doors at both ends thereof,first and second opposed sidewalls extending lengthwise from end to end,and a roof extending from end to end between the first and secondsidewalls.

FIG. 3 shows a side view of a cooling system 10′ and enclosure 20′according to a further representative form of the invention. Cold air Cis delivered from a chiller or air-conditioning unit 40 to a cooling airplenum 42 beneath a raised access floor 30, through a perforated floortile 44, into a cool air chamber 46. The cooling air C is delivered fromthe cool air chamber 46 through one or more arrays or racks of theelectronic equipment 24, into one or more warm air chambers 48. As thecooling air passes along the electronic components, heat is transferredfrom the components to the cooling air, effectively cooling theelectronic components and heating the air. The cooling air C isdelivered under the influence of positive pressure from the cool airdelivery side, as from a fan or blower of the air-conditioning unit 40,and/or negative pressure from the warm air discharge side, as from oneor more high-flow fans 50, such as but not limited to a scroll fan orsquirrel cage fan system, discharging from warm air chamber 48. Theoptional provision of discharge fans 50 advantageously relievesback-pressure, prevents fluid cavitation within the system, and ensurespositive controlled airflow throughout the cool-air and warm-airenclosures at all times. Cooling air C is substantially restricted fromexiting the cool air chamber 46, except through the desired coolingairflow channels between adjacent electronic equipment components 24, bymeans of the substantially airtight enclosure 20′, and infill orblanking panels 52 that prevent air from escaping through emptyequipment spaces where no electronic components are installed. Heatedair H is discharged from the warm air chamber 48, into the environmentoutside of the enclosure 20′, and is prevented from mixing with thecooling air C by the substantially airtight nature of the cool-airenclosure 46. In alternate embodiments, the heated air H is collected ina return plenum for recycling back to the chiller or for externaldischarge, and the provision of a warm air discharge chamber 48 mayoptionally be omitted. A roof panel or cover portion 14′ of theenclosure 20′ is optionally equipped with one or more accessories 54,which may include: lighting, emergency cooling systems, fire suppressionsystems, fire or smoke detection sensors, video surveillance gear,and/or other equipment or fixtures. Optionally, one or more subfloorpartitions 43 are provided, for example along four sides defining arectangular array, to segregate a reduced volume subfloor cooling airdelivery plenum from the overall subfloor space, to further reduce thevolume of air required to be cooled and thereby increase the flowvelocity or flow rate of cooling air through the entire cold air supplyplenum and cold air supply chamber, thus increasing the rate of coolingair turnover delivered.

FIGS. 4-8 show various alternate embodiments of cooling systemsaccording to further examples of the present invention. In each example,cold air C is delivered from a chiller or air-conditioning unit 40 to anenclosure 20″ via a cooling air plenum. In the embodiments of FIGS. 4-6,the cooling air C is delivered to the bottom of the enclosure from adown-flow chiller, while in the embodiments of FIGS. 7 and 8 the coolingair is delivered to the top of the enclosure, and the system sitsdirectly on the structural floor. In the embodiment of FIG. 4, thecooling air delivery plenum is the subfloor plenum of a raised accessfloor; whereas in the embodiment of FIG. 5, the cooling air deliveryplenum is positioned above a raised access floor; and in the embodimentof FIG. 6, the cooling air delivery plenum is positioned above astructural concrete floor. In the embodiments of FIGS. 7 and 8, the warmair H discharged from the enclosure 20″ is collected in a warm airreturn plenum 70, and recycled through the chiller. In the embodiment ofFIG. 7 the chiller is an up-flow chiller housed on the same floor as theenclosure; whereas in the embodiment of FIG. 8, a down flow chiller ishoused on the floor above the enclosure.

FIG. 9 shows a detailed view of a cooling system enclosure according toanother representative form of the invention. Side wall panels 12 andtop or roof panels 14 are mounted on framing members or supports 16, andsliding pocket doors 32 are provided to form a generally airtightenclosure over a support floor 30. Electronic components 24 and blankingpanels 52 are secured by mounting screws, built-in retaining brackets,or other fasteners, to mounting rails 80 attached to vertical framingmembers 16 of the enclosure. Lower spaces of the left and right-handside equipment racks are left open in the drawing figure to more clearlyshow the mounting rails, but in practice would preferably be filled withelectronic components 24 and/or blanking panels 52 to control airflow asdesired across/through the electronic components. Although a dual-racksystem is shown (i.e., a left-hand equipment array and a right-handequipment array), it will be understood that the system and method ofthe present invention are compatible with single-rack systems, and withmulti-rack systems of virtually any configuration or disposition(including racks of different heights, spacing or shapes). Equipmentracks need not be arranged in parallel rows to form alternating hot/coldaisles, but can be arranged in any location, format, and/or orientationwithin the controlled environment. Also, the enclosure of the coolingsystem of the present invention can be installed surrounding one or moreexisting equipment racks of virtually any manufacturer or design; oralternatively, the electronic components can be mounted directly tomounting rails or other components of the enclosure, thereby eliminatingthe need for changing electronic equipment installation from existingracks to a particular rack enclosure, or any other third-party racks.

In some applications, equipment may be positioned in a room with anexposed structural ceiling. In representative applications, the systemof the present invention may utilize the existing structural ceiling asthe top of the cold chamber. (Some facilities have very low clearance asa result of the access flooring system boosting the floor height, sothat there is no room for a suspended ceiling system.)

In representative forms of the invention, the enclosure of the coolingsystem includes sufficient enclosed interior space to contain theelectronic components to be cooled, along with portions or all of anyracks that the components are mounted on, as well as sufficientpersonnel access space on the front and/or back sides of the componentsfor anticipated maintenance or monitoring. Optionally, access to theenclosure of the cooling system is provided through an airlockarrangement having first and second doors or closures that are openedand closed in sequence to minimize loss of pressurized cooling air fromthe enclosure as personnel enter and exit.

The enclosure of the present invention can optionally be utilized tofunction as an enclosed conduit for electrical wiring and fiber opticnetworking or traditional hard wire networking cabling, so that thewires and cabling are protected from damage and can be neatly arrangedto avoid damage, accidental disconnects, shorting of electrical wires,and fires. Panels of the enclosure can optionally also be utilized tocreate security partitions or provide physical isolation of specificequipment, and further can optionally comprise bulletproof componentsthat also allow for complete visible observation either into or out ofthe enclosure. The framing and panels of the system can optionally beinfinitely reconfigured without dismantling the entire structure, andcan be expanded or changed to provide room for additional equipment, ormade smaller to accommodate removal of equipment. Seismic and/orpositional bracing support of all equipment can optionally be providedby appropriate configuration of the framing and panels of the system,for support in a seismic event or in the event of sway in high-risefacilities. The enclosure may provide fire suppression control directlyto the computer equipment, without dispersing fire suppression materialsthroughout the external environment. The enclosure may be installed andassembled over existing equipment without disconnection or disruption ofoperation.

Example embodiments of the present invention are suitable for use inwhole or in part in other industries as well, including drug andpharmaceutical manufacturing and production and laboratory areas andwill serve to prevent contaminants from entering the area wheremaintaining high quality filtered air is crucial. The system will alsobe useful in microelectronics manufacturing environments, aerospace, andmedical partitioning environments for research or patient care.

The structural frame of the unit can be configured to serve as a braceto support computer enclosures and this serve as a seismic bracingmechanism. Various components of the invention can be utilized alone, orin combination with other components to bridge adjacent rows of computerequipment so that a the bridge, being very strong, can be utilized tosupport a utility tray into which cables or other infrastructurehardware can be placed.

Data center facilities are noisy environments. Example embodiments ofthe present invention will greatly reduce the overall noise in the datacenter environment by acting as soundproofing enclosures. Fire is also aserious concern in data center facilities. Much investment is requiredto provide fire suppression in order to protect the vital computersystems and other equipment in the facility. Example embodiments of thepresent invention can also serve to prevent the spread of flames in theevent of a fire by partitioning the various areas where the system isutilized. Example embodiments of the present invention can be configuredto allow full transmission of light, or translucence, or opaqueness.

Because of the tremendous increase in flow volume forced through theheat producing equipment by the system and method of the presentinvention, the exhausted air comes out of the equipment at a lowertemperature than with previously known systems, and as a result of this,the air conditioning systems do not require as much energy to cool theairflow coming from the equipment. This will greatly reduce theelectrical energy needed to operate the air conditioners. Another energysaving feature of the present invention is the fact that the cooling airwill not have to be provided at a temperature as low as would otherwisebe provided. This adds again to the energy and cost savings. Elevatedcooling air temperature, increased flow volume, and warm exhausttemperatures all serve to minimize energy consumption and cooling costs.Unlike other systems, the present invention allows for human occupationof the isolation chamber, and will prevent cooling air from escapingaround or over heat producing equipment. Other cooling methods requirethat equipment be configured into rows or aisles. The present inventionhas no such requirement since the system's modular components can beconfigured in any manner to create partition.

While the invention has been described with reference to exampleembodiments, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that avariety of modifications, additions, and deletions are within the scopeof the invention, as defined by the following claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. An airflow partitioning system for use with apositive-pressure cool-air supply to provide cooling air to electronicequipment supported in at least two spaced-apart adjacent racks formingan aisle therebetween, the partitioning system comprising: a pluralityof partitioning panels configured to span the two adjacent racks ofelectronic equipment and to cooperate with the two adjacent racks tocontain the aisle and thereby form a cool-air enclosure defining acool-air chamber, wherein the partitioning panels include one or moreroof panels configured to form a roof partition extending between thetwo adjacent racks of electronic equipment at a top of the aisle betweenthe racks, wherein the partitioning panels include one or more endpanels configured to form an end partition extending between the twoadjacent racks of electronic equipment at an end of the aisle betweenthe racks, wherein the partitioning panels include at least one accesspanel that moves between a closed position that cooperates in formingthe cool-air enclosure and an open position that provides access betweenthe cool-air chamber and outside the cool-air enclosure, wherein thecool-air chamber is in airflow communication with, and fed the coolingair by, the positive-pressure cool-air supply, wherein the partitioningpanels substantially restrict the cooling air from escaping from thecool-air chamber through the top and end of the aisle so that thecooling air is forced and directed to flow into the cool-air chamber,into the two adjacent racks through inward-facing sides of the racks,across the electronic equipment in the two adjacent racks to absorb heatfrom and thereby cool the electronic equipment, and out of the twoadjacent racks through opposite-facing sides of the racks.
 2. Thepartitioning system of claim 1, wherein the partitioning panels furthercomprise one or more blanking panels, wherein all equipment spaces inthe two adjacent racks where the electronic equipment can be located areeither occupied by the electronic equipment or covered by one of theblanking panels.
 3. The partitioning system of claim 1, wherein thepartitioning panels cooperate with the two adjacent racks so that thecool-air enclosure is substantially airtight, and wherein the cool-airchamber is partitioned from and has a smaller volume than theenvironment in which the two adjacent racks are housed.
 4. Thepartitioning system of claim 1, wherein the access panel is a slidingdoor or wall panel of the end partition.
 5. The partitioning system ofclaim 1, further comprising a plurality of framing members to which theroof panels and the end panels are mounted.
 6. The partitioning systemof claim 1, wherein the partitioning panels include one or moreopposite-end panels configured to form an opposite-end partitionextending between the two adjacent racks of electronic equipment at anopposite end of the aisle between the racks.
 7. The partitioning systemof claim 6, wherein the partitioning panels include one or more sidewallpanels configured to form a sidewall partition extending along a side ofthe aisle between at least a portion of the end and the opposite end ofthe aisle.
 8. The partitioning system of claim 1, wherein a third racksupporting additional electronic equipment is located spaced-apart fromand adjacent to a second one of the two adjacent racks so that thesecond and third adjacent racks form an additional aisle between them,and further comprising: a plurality of additional partitioning panelsconfigured to span the second and third adjacent racks of electronicequipment and to cooperate with the second and third adjacent racks tocontain the additional aisle and thereby form a warm-air enclosuredefining a warm-air chamber, wherein the warm-air chamber is in airflowcommunication with the cool-air chamber through equipment spaces in thesecond rack so that the cooling air is forced and directed to flow intothe warm-air chamber after flowing across the electronic equipment inthe equipment spaces of the second adjacent rack.
 9. The partitioningsystem of claim 8, wherein the additional partitioning panels includeone or more additional roof panels configured to form an additional roofpartition extending between the second and third adjacent racks ofelectronic equipment at a top of the additional aisle between the racks,and wherein the partitioning panels include one or more additional endpanels configured to form an additional end partition extending betweenthe second and third adjacent racks of electronic equipment at an end ofthe additional aisle between the racks.
 10. The partitioning system ofclaim 8, further comprising a discharge fan in airflow communicationwith the warm-air chamber to draw the cooling air across the electronicequipment in the second adjacent rack and into the warm-air chamber. 11.A cool-air enclosure for use with a positive-pressure cool-air supply toprovide cooling air to electronic equipment, the enclosure comprising:at least two spaced-apart adjacent racks that support the electronicequipment therein and that form an aisle therebetween; and a pluralityof partitioning panels configured to span the two adjacent racks ofelectronic equipment and to cooperate with the two adjacent racks tocontain the aisle and thereby form the cool-air enclosure, wherein thecool-air enclosure defines a cool-air chamber, wherein the partitioningpanels include one or more roof panels configured to form a roofpartition extending between the two adjacent racks of electronicequipment at a top of the aisle between the racks, wherein thepartitioning panels include one or more end panels configured to form anend partition extending between the two adjacent racks of electronicequipment at an end of the aisle between the racks, wherein thepartitioning panels include at least one access panel that moves betweena closed position that cooperates in forming the cool-air enclosure andan open position that provides access between the cool-air chamber andoutside the cool-air enclosure, wherein the cool-air chamber is inairflow communication with, and fed the cooling air by, thepositive-pressure cool-air supply, and wherein the partitioning panelssubstantially restrict the cooling air from escaping from the cool-airchamber through the top and end of the aisle so that the cooling air isforced and directed to flow into the cool-air chamber, into the twoadjacent racks through inward-facing sides of the racks, across theelectronic equipment in the two adjacent racks to absorb heat from andthereby cool the electronic equipment, and out of the two adjacent racksthrough opposite-facing sides of the racks.
 12. The enclosure of claim11, wherein the partitioning panels further comprise one or moreblanking panels, wherein all equipment spaces in the two adjacent rackswhere the electronic equipment can be located are either occupied by theelectronic equipment or covered by one of the blanking panels.
 13. Theenclosure of claim 11, wherein the partitioning panels cooperate withthe two adjacent racks so that the cool-air enclosure is substantiallyairtight, and wherein the cool-air chamber is partitioned from and has asmaller volume than the environment in which the two adjacent racks arehoused.
 14. The partitioning system of claim 1, wherein the access panelis a sliding door or wall panel of the end partition.
 15. The enclosureof claim 11, further comprising a plurality of framing members to whichthe roof panels and the end panels are mounted, and wherein thepartitioning panels include one or more opposite-end panels configuredto form an opposite-end partition extending between the two adjacentracks of electronic equipment at an opposite end of the aisle betweenthe racks.
 16. The enclosure of claim 11 in combination with a warm-airenclosure, the warm-air enclosure comprising: a third rack supportingadditional electronic equipment and located spaced-apart from andadjacent to a second one of the two adjacent racks so that the secondand third adjacent racks form an additional aisle between them; and aplurality of additional partitioning panels configured to span thesecond and third adjacent racks of electronic equipment and to cooperatewith the second and third adjacent racks to contain the additional aisleand thereby form the warm-air enclosure, wherein the warm-air enclosuredefines a warm-air chamber, wherein the warm-air chamber is in airflowcommunication with the cool-air chamber through equipment spaces in thesecond rack so that the cooling air is forced and directed to flow intothe warm-air chamber after flowing across the electronic equipment inthe equipment spaces of the second rack.
 17. A method of controllingcooling air to electronic equipment supported in at least twospaced-apart adjacent racks forming an aisle therebetween, the methodcomprising: installing a plurality of partitioning panels spanning thetwo adjacent racks of electronic equipment and cooperating with the twoadjacent racks to contain the aisle and thereby form a cool-airenclosure, wherein the cool-air enclosure defines a cool-air chamberthat is in airflow communication with a positive-pressure cool-airsupply to provide the cooling air, wherein the panel-installing stepincludes installing one or more of the panels to form a roof partitionextending between the two adjacent racks of electronic equipment at atop of the aisle between the racks, wherein the panel-installing stepincludes installing one or more of the panels to form an end partitionextending between the two adjacent racks of electronic equipment at anend of the aisle between the racks, at least one access panel that movesbetween a closed position that cooperates in forming the cool-airenclosure and an open position that provides access between the cool-airchamber and outside the cool-air enclosure, and wherein in use thepartitioning panels substantially restrict the cooling air from escapingfrom the cool-air chamber through the top and end of the aisle so thatthe cooling air is forced and directed to flow into the cool-airchamber, into the two adjacent racks through inward- facing sides of theracks, across the electronic equipment in the two adjacent racks toabsorb heat from and thereby cool the electronic equipment, and out ofthe two adjacent racks through opposite-facing sides of the racks. 18.The method of claim 17, further comprising installing one or moreblanking panels covering all equipment spaces in the two adjacent racksthat are unoccupied by the electronic equipment.
 19. The method of claim17, wherein the access panel is a sliding door or wall panel of the endpartition.
 20. The method of claim 17, further comprising installing aplurality of additional partitioning panels spanning a second one of thetwo adjacent racks and a third rack, wherein the third rack supportsadditional electronic equipment and is located spaced-apart from andadjacent to a second one of the two adjacent racks so that the secondand third adjacent racks form an additional aisle between them, whereinthe additional partitioning panels cooperate with the second and thirdadjacent racks to contain the additional aisle and thereby form awarm-air enclosure, wherein the warm-air enclosure defines a warm-airchamber, wherein in use the warm-air chamber is in airflow communicationwith the cool-air chamber through equipment spaces in the second rack sothat the cooling air is forced and directed to flow into the warm-airchamber after flowing across the electronic equipment in the equipmentspaces of the second and third adjacent racks.
 21. An airflowpartitioning system for use with a positive-pressure air supply toprovide ventilating air to electronic equipment supported in at leasttwo spaced-apart racks with an aisle therebetween, the partitioningsystem comprising: a plurality of partitioning panels configured to spanthe two spaced-apart racks of electronic equipment and to cooperate withthe two spaced-apart racks to contain the aisle and thereby form an airenclosure defining an air chamber, wherein the partitioning panelsinclude one or more roof panels configured to form a roof partitionextending between the two spaced-apart racks of electronic equipment ata top of the aisle between the racks, wherein the partitioning panelsinclude one or more end panels configured to form an end partitionextending between the two spaced-apart racks of electronic equipment atan end of the aisle between the racks, wherein the partitioning panelsare configured to form the air enclosure with fire-suppression access,wherein the air chamber is in airflow communication with thepositive-pressure air supply, and wherein the partition panelssubstantially restrict the air from escaping from the air chamberthrough the top and end of the aisle so that the air is directed to flowinto the air chamber through inward-facing sides of the racks, afterflowing across the electronic equipment in the two spaced-apart racks toabsorb heat from and thereby cool the electronic equipment, and afterflowing into the two spaced-apart racks through opposite-facing sides ofthe racks.
 22. The partitioning system of claim 21, wherein the roofpartition is equipped with a fire-suppression system.